Control mechanism for automotive vehicles



May 10, 1938. A. K. BRUMBAUGH CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLESFiled July 29, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 QINVENTOR ANDREW KBEl/MflAl/GH ATTORNE Y5 y 10, 8- A. K. BRUMBAUGH 2,117,016

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed July 29, 1932 4 4Sheets-Sheet 2 43 IN VEN T 0R ANDRE W KBPUMBAWH May 10, 1938.

A. BRUMBAUGH CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES INVENTOR ANDRE WK- BEI/MfiAl/Gh Filed July 29, 1932 ATTORNEYS May 10, 1938. A. K.BRUMBAUGH CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLEs Filed July 29, 1952m [us/v TOR ANDREW A BEW/VBAMSH 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 $4? an M .-l TTORNE )5Patented May), 1938 CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AUTOBIOTIVE VEHICLES Andrew K.Brnmbaugh, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The White Motor Comp ny,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohiov Application July 29, 1932,Serial No. 625,857

8 Claims.

This invention relates to control mechanism for automotive vehicles andis particularly adapted for delivery trucks and like vehicles which arerequired to make a relatively large number of stops with relativelyshort runs between stops.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a safe and reliablesystem of control mechanism for vehicles of the above type whichwillfacilitate the operation thereof.

With this object in view, the braking system and engine throttle areinterconnected by linkage mechanism controlled by a lever or likemember, preferably conveniently located with respect to the operator'scab, whereby when the lever is is moved in a direction to apply thebrakes. the

throttle is retarded and the .engine brought to idling speed, and whensaid lever is moved in a direction to release the brakes, the throttleis ad-- vanced and the engine brought to a predeternamed driving speed.This lever or like member may be considered in the nature of a combinedthrottle and brake control lever, since. thereis a certain adjustablerange of lever movement which is lost motion with respect to the brakingaction, or which does not affect the latter action, but

which does act onthe throttle lever. In conjunction with the foregoingfeature, the engine throttle is also operatively connected with theclutch pedal in a manner such that when the clutchis released, thethrottle is retarded and'.

the speed of the engine 'decelerated to facilitate the gear-shiftingoperation, and when the clutch is engaged, the throttle is advanced andthe speed of the engine accelerated to take care of the load.

hand lever mounted on the steeringcolumn, is

' provided, which determines the range of accelera- 3 tion of thecombined brake and throttle lever.

Thus the driver of thevehicle may set this latter leverto a pointcommensurate with the load and speed of travel desired to be attained,and then operate the vehicle with the combined brake and throttle leverin conjunction with the clutch pedal. 7 1 I The present invention may beconsidered in the natureof an improvement with respect to that disclosedin my prior copending application, Serial 4 No. 493,588, filed November5, 1930.

The advantages incidentto the foregoing briefly outlined controlmechanism will be rendered more apparent in view of the followingdescrip-'- with the drawings;

. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the control elements showing theirrelation to other parts of the vehicle;

Fig. 3 isa side elevation-of a portion of the vehicle showingparticularly the control elements; Fig. i is a view taken substantiallyon theline 4-4, Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows,the parts being reduced in size rela-- tively to Fig. 2 to conservespace; v

Fig. 5 is a view looking in the same direction as Fig. 4, showing, thecontrol elements on the opposite side of the vehicle; Fig. 6 is adetailed sectional view through a part of the brake mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a view of a booster assembly for the brakes detached from'thevehicle; and

Fig. 8 is a detail view of a connecting member used in the brake system.

' Referring to the drawings, I have shown'in Fig.- l a delivery vehiclewhich, briefly stated, comprises a chassis frame I!) having'anintermediate I depressed portion ii, at which point a compartment I2 isprovided in-which the driver or operator may stand. The body I3 isconstructed to provide a load space in rear of the compartment l2, andthe-latter as here shown is open across the entire width of the body.Arranged at the front of the compartment are the controls for thevehicle, which include a steering wheel 14,

a clutch pedal C, a service brake pedal B, (refer to Figs-2 to 5,inclusive) an accelerator pedal A and an accelerator lever A, all ofwhich are located within convenient reach of a driver in the compartmentl2.

An internal combustion engine M supplies the motive power of the vehicleand is provided with the usual'throttle valvedisposed in thefuel-mixture supply line and controlled by an arm 19, the latter beingconnected by a link 211 with the throttle control linkage mechanismwhich operatively connects the throttle arm [9 with the a clutch pedalC, foot accelerator A, hand accelerator Afand the combined brake and.throttle lever accelerator A being mounted on the other arm of the saidbell crank.

The clutch pedal C is connected to the throttle arm I9 in a manner suchthat when the pedal is depressed and the clutch released, the engine isretarded to. idling speed to facilitate the gear shifting operation, andwhen said pedal is released, the engine speed is increased to take careof the load. The pedal C is fixed on the one end of a shaft 28, which isrotatably mounted in a bracketsleeve 29, the opposite end,of said shafthaving fixed thereon an arm 30 which is pivotally connected to alink-rod 3|, in turn pivotally connected to an arm 32 secured on the endof the clutch-operating shaft.

Secured on the inner end of the shaft 28 is another arm 33 which ispivotally connected to a yoke link 34, provided with a head 34a, thesaid yoke link extending into a sleeve 35. This sleeve is secured on therearward end of a link 36 by means of a head 31 and houses a spring 38which is positioned on link 34 between head 34a and the rear end ofsleeve 35. Link 33 is pivotally connected atits forward end to afloating lever 39 which is in turn pivotally connected at one end to thearm 24 on the one end of the rock shaft 2|.

The opposite end of rock shaft 2| has fixed thereon an arm 4|] which ispivotally connected to the one end of a floating lever 4|, the oppositeend of said arm being pivoted to the throttle link 20. The hand throttlelever A connects with the floating lever 39 through shaft 42, arm 43 andlink 44.

It will be seen that when the clutch pedal C is depressed, link 34exerts a yielding pull on link 36, which is connected through arms 39and 24, rock shaft 2|, arm 4|], lever 4| and link 20 to the throttle arml9, turning the latter in the direction indicated by the dotted linearrow and retarding the throttle, spring 38 compens ating for any pullbeyond the limit of retardation. When the said pedal is released, thethrottle arm is returned to its original position, opening the throttleas the clutch moves into engagement, thereby increasing thepowerdelivered by the engine as the load is applied. If the clutch pedal isdepressed when the hand throttle lever A is in retarded position, spring38 is merely compressed without moving the throttle. When the clutch isre-engaged, thehand throttle lever, or foot accelerator A, shouldbeadvanced in the conventional manner to prevent stalling of the engine.Y

The combined brake and throttle lever hereinbefore referred to isindicated at D. and is pivotally anchored to the transmission housing bymeans of a pin 45. The lever is provided with a pawl adapted to engage atoothed segment 43,

when it is desired to set the lever.

'This-lever -D is'operatively connected to the tends through a sleevehead 49 and is provided 9 with a head 41a. Sleeve head 49 is threaded ona sleeve 50 which houses a spring SJ and connects with a link rod 52which in turn is pivotally connected to the floating lever 4|. z

It will be seen that whenlever D is movedforward, the head 4111 on link41 tends vto compress the spring 5|\and exert a yieldingpush on the link52 and, through lever 4| and link 20, to retard the throttle, the limitof retardation being compensated for by-s'pring 5|. When the said leveris moved in a rearward direction, a pull is exerted on link 52 and thethrottle is advanced,

the action in this instance being positive.

It will also be seen that the advance of 'the throttle by lever D may bedefinitely limited over a certain range by setting the hand lever A,since the latter lever has a positive connection with the throttle arml9, while lever D has a yielding connection with respect .to said arm.Thus the hand throttle lever A may be adjusted to determine the range ofthrottle advance of lever D, and thereafter the throttle may becontrolled by the latter lever, the speed of the vehicle being heldwithin the limit set by lever A. Lever A also determines the limit ofacceleration of clutch pedal C, and controls the throttleoperatingfunction of the pedal C when changing gears. One advantage of thislatter feature is that the range of throttle advance of the clutch pedalmay be adjusted to take care of varying loads imposed on the motorinstarting. For example, when starting on an upgrade, lever A may beadjusted to advance the upper limit of the pedal C to take care of theincreased load on themotor. Lever -D may also be used as a brake lever,as will be apparent in view of the construction which will now bedescribed.

The lever D in the ebodiment shown is formed with arms 53 and 54. Arm 53is operatively conis a sleeve rotatably mounted on said-shaft. Arm- 7 53of lever D connects with a lever 51 secured on the one end of sleeve 56through a lost-motion link member generally indicated at 58 and shown indetail in Fig. 8. As shown this member comprises a cylinder 58a, whichhouses a spring 531;

and is connected to the arm 53, and, a contact .member in the form of aplunger or piston 580 which has a'slidihg fit in said cylinder. The

travel of the cylinder 58a prior to contacting the spring 58b andexerting braking pressure on piston 58c covers the range of throttleaction of lever D before the brakes are applied. A spring 59 normallyurges the sleeve 55 and related parts to their'original positions.

The brake pedal B is connected to the opposite end of sleeve 56 (noteFig. 4) through the medium ofalink 30 andalever 5|.

The service brakes, one of which is generallyindicated at S in Fig. 1,may be operatively connected to sleeve 55 inany suitable manner, such asbyv linkage mechanism indicated at 5511. and 53b. I v

To reduce the effort involved in applying the brakes, the boosterassembly shown in detail in Fig. 7 is provided and connected into thesystem as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. A power cylinder 62 is attachedto the frame III by means of a A link is pivotally connected at one to75 g rod 65' and at its opposite end connects with the one arm of a bellcrank) lever ll mounted on a stub shaft 10a, the other arm of said leverbeing connected to the valve stem ll of a valve 512.

Also secured on shaft Ila 1s a lever or arm lllb (see Fig. 4) whichconnects to brake linkage mechanism not shown. Valve, stem ll is pro-'-vided with a resiliently mounted closure member 13 adapted to close portIt; The lower end of the valve 12 is pivotally supported by a bracket 15secured on the sleeve 56. I

Cylinder 62 is operated invthe present instance by suction pressure fromthe manifold I6, con-- duits l1 and Ila connecting the cylinder with themanifold through valve 12. When the sleeve 56 is turned a certainpredetermined amount by the hand lever D or the foot pedal 13, adownward pull is exerted on valve- II which is trans-,

mitted through valve stem "H, arm Ill and stub shaft Ilia to lever 10b,and since this lever is connected to the brakes, it progressivelyresists this pull as the brakes are applied. causing valve closuremember 13 to close port I4 and valve closure member 13a to open portIla, where-- upon suction is set up in cylinder 62, with the '1 resultthat the piston 64 tends to move rearlever I0 acts on the said sleeve toaugment the wardly, and through the -rod 65, link 69 and brake pressure.When manual braking pressure is released; the port I4 is opened to theatmosphere and port 14a closed and piston 64 returns to its normalposition, exhausting through port- 58. It will be understood that thereis a'followup action of the casing of valve 12 as the brake is appliedwhich controls the suction pressurein cylinder 62 in a manner such as tomaintain a suction pressure proportionate to the manual brakingpressure. Fig. 6, taken in conjunction with Fig. 5, shows theconnections between lever D and the propeller shaft brake. This brake inthe example shown is operated by means of toggle links 18 and 1811, linki8 being pivotally anchored at 18b and having pivotally connectedthereto lostmotion linkage mechanism comprising a housing or sleeve 19,a contact and guide member an fixed in the upper end of the sleeve, arod 8i having a sliding fit in' said guide ,member, a

spring 83, and a contact nut or lug 83a fixed on the rodand adapted toengage said spring. The

housing "I9 is pivotally connected by a pin 84 to a the link 18, and therod 81 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the arm 54 of lever D.Toggle link 1811 is projected through the adjacent free ends of thebrake band 85 and adjustably anchored by nut 86. Return springs 81 aremounted on link 18a. togetherwith adjusting nuts 8.6a."

A stationary abutment 88 is also provided.

It willbe seen that when lever D-is pushedfor- V ward, it first retardsthe throttle without afl'ect I .ing the brakes, since there is a certainrange of lost-motion with respect to the brakes. Upo

continued forward movement ofthe lever, cylinder 58a exerts pressurethru' spring g 58b on contact plunger 580, which rotates sleeve 56, and

the service brakes are thus-applied-with a g d 1 ally-increasingpressure. Arm 54 of lever Dacts simultaneously to push rod-ll andcontact lug or nut 83a upwardly, and when the spring 83 reachesthecontact member 80, a graduall increasing pressureis exerted on link18, which rotates about its pivot 18b, and sets the propeller shaftbrakes. The linkage mechanism is preferably arranged to time this actionso that the service brakes and the propeller shaft brakes will beapplied in consecutive order, or one may be timed with respect to theother as desired.

.Also, the range of throttle action of lever D may .be adjusted andtimed with respect to the brake action. When the lever D is released andpulled back, the brakes are released and the throttle advanced. a

Obviously the manner of operating the vehicle may be varied withincertain limits in accordance with the preference of driver. In makingdeliveries, the preferred method of operation is to set the hand leverAat.a position which. will give a desired top speed, and control thespeed of travel throughthe medium of the lever D. In starting thevehicle, the operator depresses clutch pedal C and pulls back on leverD, releasing the emergency and service brakes in consecutive order, thethrottle being held in retarded position by the clutch pedal. The gearsare then shifted in the conventional manner, the

the operator or l0 throttle-control action of the clutch" pedal alter Ynately advancing and retarding the throttle as the clutch is engaged andreleased. In stopping the vehicle, the clutch pedal is depressed andlever D pushed forward, decelerating the motor comprising an engine anda throttle therefor,-

brakes, a main hand throttle lever, a combined brake and throttle lever,linkage mechanism con necting said latter lever with said brakes andembodying a lost motion connection to provide a range of throttlecontrol independent of braking action, linkage mechanism common to bothof said levers connecting them to the throttle 'and embodying aresilient connection with respect to the combined brake and throttlelever -whereby the setting of the main hand lever limits the throttleadvance of said combined brake and throttle lever- 3. In an automotivevehicle, the combination comprising, an engine and a throttle therefor,emergency brakes and service brakes, a hand lever, linkage mechanismconnecting said hand lever'with said throttle, and also with saidemergency and service brakes, and lost-motion devices interposed in thebrake linkage mec anism I whereby said lever is permitted a range of trottle control without applying the brakes, said lever when moved in onedirection retarding the throttle and setting the service and emergencybrakes in the order named.

4 In an automotive vehicle, the combination comprising, an engine and athrottle'therefor, a

propeller shaft, a brake on said shaft, a hand lever, linkage mechanismconnecting said hand lever with said throttle and also with said-brake,and a lost-motion device'interposed in the brake linkage mechanismwhereby said lever is: permitted a range. of throttle control withoutapplying the brakes.

5. In an automotive vehicle,.the combination comprising an engine and athrottle therefor, brakes and a clutch, a lever for actuating saidclutch, a main throttle lever, a lever for actuating said brakes and forcontrolling said throttle-arranged to control said throttle throughoutits entire range of movement, linkage mechanism operatively connectingall of said levers with said 1 throttle, linkage mechanism connectingsaid last named lever with said brakes embodying an amount of lostmotion with respect to said brakes sufficient to permit the aforesaidrange of throttle control by said last named lever, and means associatedwith said first named linkage mechanism whereby setting of said mainthrottle lever limits the throttle advance of the combined brake andthrottle lever.

' 6. In an automotive vehicle, the combination comprising, an engine anda throttle therefor, brakes and a clutch, a hand lever for actuatingsaid brakes and for controlling said throttle arranged to control saidthrottle throughout its entire range of movement, linkage mechanismconnecting said hand lever with said throttle, linkage, mechanismconnecting said hand lever with said brakes embodying an amount of lostmotion with respect to said brakes suiiicient to permit theaforesaidrange of throttle control by.

said lever actingthrough the first named linkage, a lever for actuatingsaid clutch, linkage mechanism connecting said second mentioned leverwith said first named linkage mechanism through which-movement of saidsecond mentioned lever to release and engage said clutch is communicatedto said first named linkage mechanism to retard and advance the throttlein the order named, and ineans for limiting throttle advance by saidhand ever.

7. In an automotive vehicle, the combination comprising, an engine-and athrottle therefor,

brakes and a clutch, a hand lever for actuating said brakes andforcontrolling said throttle ar-.

I ranged'to control said throttle throughout its entire range ofmovement, said lever extending upwardly from the floor oi the vehicle toa convenient height for operation by the driver in a standing position,linkage mechanism connecting said lever with said throttle,linkagemechanism connecting said hand lever with said brakes embodyingan amount of lost motion with respect to said brakes suflicient topermit the aforesaid range of throttle control by said hand lever actingthrough said first named linkage mechanism, a pedal for actuating saidclutch mounted near the floor of said vehicle in a convenient positionfor operation by the foot of the driver, and linkage mechanismconnecting said pedal with said first named linkage through whichmovement of said pedal to releaseand engage the clutch is communicatedto said first named linkage mechanism to retard and advance the throttlein the order named.

'8. In an automotive vehicle, the combination comprising, an engine anda throttle therefor,

, brakes and a clutch, a hand lever for actuating said brakes and forcontrolling said. throttle arranged to control said throttle throughoutits entire range of movement, linkage mechanism connecting said handlever with said throttle, linkage mechanismconnecting said hand leverwith said brakes embodying an amount of lost motion with respect to saidbrakes suflicient to permit the aforesaid range of throttle control bysaid lever acting through the first named linkage, a lever for actuatingsaid clutch, and linkage mechanism connecting said second mentionedlever with said first named linkage mechanism through which movement ofsaid second mentioned lever to release and engage said clutch iscommunicated to said first named linkage mechanism to retard and advancethe throttle in the order named.

ANDREW K, BRUZMBAUGH.

